In terms of taking a break, twenty six years is a long holiday by any band’s standards, but that’s exactly how long Lowsunday were AWOL between their second and third releases. The musical landscape may have changed a great deal since the death of the 90s, but the first sounds shared by this Pittsburgh based alternative/shoegaze/goth band at the end of 2025 found the musicians sticking rigidly to what they do best. In many ways, the resulting ‘White EP’ is all the better for that. Yes, the five tracks sound very retro, but in fairness, the strong gothy element in their sound was already retro by 1999. What the five tracks on this EP achieve – whether deliberately or otherwise – is to bring a massive pang of nostalgia which, coming at a time when the world feels as if it’s heading into even darker places, is certainly most welcome.

The EP’s pre-release single,‘Love Language’, used to close the EP, is a perfect slice of retro alternative goth-tinged rock, where mechanical rhythms collide with cold layers of guitar in a way that makes the band sound like ‘Pornography’ era Cure meeting with A Place To Bury Strangers. A heavily treated vocal weaves in and out of hard beats, almost ghost-like, setting up a great musical contrast that gives this track a great feel, but the show is ultimately stolen by the brief appearance of some clean guitar work which sounds like it’d be more at home on a desert rock recording or a soundtrack by Daniel Lanois. In terms of showcasing most of the band’s best traits in one four minute blast, this is pretty much perfect, but the tracks that lead up to this dramatic finish are almost as effective.

The EP’s opener ‘Nevver’ opts for something even more mechanical. A wave of drum machines and groove laden bass first give off a vague hint of influence from early Human League, but it isn’t too long before Lowsunday venture into a comfort zone. A huge arc of distorted guitar adds a dense sound that borrows heavily from classic My Bloody Valentine and A Place To Bury Strangers, and during the chorus, it’s so loud and intense, it dominates everything to the point where the mechanical rhythms and more melodic elements can barely be heard. That doesn’t matter: it really helps to give the impression of a number where dark moods and atmospheres feel more important than melodic or lyrical hooks, and for those who love the heavier end of the shoegaze spectrum, this will be an instant hit.

Allowing for far more melody, the brilliant ‘Call Silence’ serves up a perfect slice of 80s goth. Dancing basslines sit at the forefront, their clean sound cutting through the vocals and guitars at every turn. The drums add another very mechanical edge, and immediately, the music invites comparisons to a pre-’Blue Monday’ New Order (and this becomes even more the case once a bassline that’s very Peter Hook inspired emerges just before the two minute mark) crossed with elements of a ‘First, Last & Always’ era Sisters. If you’re going to borrow, it might as well be from the best. The more melodic backdrop allows for a bigger vocal, and with a slight reverb applied, Shane Sahene offers a performance that’s a natural fit for the music. It certainly isn’t anything new at the time of release, but it’s perfectly pitched, and very much a track that lovers of old electro-goth sounds should hear. ‘You Lost Yourself’, meanwhile, retains the great bass sound and mechanical edge, but doesn’t manage to create anything as distinctive. The decision to allow the vocal to lurk ominously at the back of everything gives the performance a demo-like feel. If you’re able to make it past that, there’s enough to enjoy: the way post punk guitars occasionally rise and battle against the bass gives this performance a genuine punch; a layer of synth adds an ominous feel during the extended middle eight and, overall, in terms of retro goth, this shows Lowsunday instinctively understand what their fans want. In some ways, the rawer production and slightly more derivative sound make this the EP’s weak link, but heard in isolation, it plays well enough.

Elsewhere, the EP highlight ‘Soft Capture’ has a core sound that resembles ‘Pornography’ era Cure even more than ‘Love Language’. From the second the opening bars hit, a dense sounding drum marks a heavy rhythm, over which, swirling guitars – heavy on the effects – serve up a perfect blend of shoegaze and classic goth. In this instance, those guitars are so prominent, they come at the expense of the vocal, which merely whispers and echoes in the rear of the track, aiming squarely for atmospherics – and succeeding effortlessly. With everything held together by a brilliantly rigid bass, this track is a perfect homage to the alternative sounds of the 80s, and in many ways, everything Lowsunday have been striving for.

It really doesn’t matter if you don’t remember Lowsunday from the previous century: the five tracks on this release take a familiar sound and allow the band to forge ahead with such an intent, everything works just as well as a new beginning. With the EP format providing a concise and almost filler free experience, ‘Ghost Machine White’ is fantastic listen, and it feels so good to have this band back again.

January/February 2026